Children danced, bands played and Bradford enjoyed a colourful party as the Lord Mayor's Carnival Procession took to the streets of the city.

After assembling in bright sunshine in Exchange Court, hundreds of people - young and old - formed a rhythmical parade and began their walk to Lister Park.

Included in the fantastic line-up were huge theatrical puppets of Romeo and Juliet and Eros, complete with bow and arrow.

The Carnival Collective, in blue and pink hula skirts, led the march with energetic dancing, followed by youngsters from various schools including Rhodesway, Lapage Primary, Heaton Primary, Allerton Primary, Buttershaw Primary and Atlas School who proudly displayed their love-themed costumes to the crowds who lined the streets cheering and clapping.

A giant Queen of Hearts and two "love roosters" danced their way along the streets amid the music while the Hit Squad beat out a rhythm on the drums.

Music and dancing were also performed by the Nigerian Friendship Society and as each group approached, the various beats overlapped. Once at Lister Park, a family fun weekend began with attractions including music from Flash Company, a two-man comedy juggling show called Curious Eyebrows and Shoestring Circus, featuring Professor Selzen.

The party atmosphere continued well into the evening with Exchange Court car park playing host to IOU Theatre company, which presented Tattoo.

The performance included a cast of dancers and the use of giant mechanical structures, elaborate costumes and specially composed music to create a breathtaking show.

Set in a mechanical wildlife arena, nocturnal creatures came to life before the eyes of the crowd as an army of petrol-driven insects pursued a huge mechanical egg factory.

The towering structure attempted to keep its crop from the clutches of the swarm as it ambled through the audience and rubbed shoulders with the crowd.

The warm weather which continued yesterday brought families flocking to The Bradford International Kite Festival at Myra Shay playing fields off Barkerend Road.

Community groups, national artists, kite champions and flying teams alike attended the event, where all eyes were skyward to view the visually colourful spectacle.

Organised by the Bradford Eid Committee, the event was attended by 32-year-old Farid Hafeez and Shahzada Shahid Farooq, 65, who both travelled from Lahore in Pakistan.

Mr Hafeez showed youngsters how to make and fly kites and will spend a fortnight in Bradford visiting local schools to talk about kite flying.

Mr Farooq, who owns a club in Lahore called the Model Town International Kite Flying Club, said: "I was invited to come along here by the Bradford Eid Committee. I know there is a lot of interest in kites and I want to promote that."

Organiser Amjad Bashir said: "Kite flying is a sport anyone can be involved in and our aim was to bring all cultures across the city together to enjoy the day."

Kite fighting teams from Manchester, Chatham, Lahore, Leeds/Bradford and Edinburgh competed during a display in the afternoon.

The Kite Festival was modelled on the week long Jashan-E-Bahar festival in Pakistan, during which kite fighting takes place. Contenders try to be the first to cut an opponent's kite strings using their own.

The event included a stage with performing arts, music, dance and song. There was also a kite stall and facilities for kite making.